Money Saving Tips to Save Thousands Per Year with Practical, Achievable Goals Do you have similar stories of Making Such an Offer? What Happened?
In resuming the Money Savings Tips Series, I want to highlight one that's going to be a bit outside your comfort zone...but it may be well worth your while.Make Them an Offer They Don't Want to Refuse
This sounds easier than it is in practice, but let me explain:
A couple months ago, when we were researching options for a kitchen upgrade (in which we ultimately saved thousands), one of our stops was at the local Home Depot. We were looking at granite and the sales person mentioned that Corian was fetching a 10% discount. We were pretty much set on granite, so I just threw one out there and said,"Well, what about getting 10% off the granite instead?
We're in a recession, I'm sure your manager would be glad to unload some granite, right?"
My wife's jaw dropped and she gave me a look of embarrassment (common reaction to my antics in our marriage). As I somewhat anticipated, the salesperson winked and said, "We'll probably be able to make something work". In addition to the 10% for the other product, we would have been able to save another 10% for opening a credit card with Home Depot, but in the end, we went with a smaller local dealer based on similar pricing plus strong recommendations on the workmanship.
For another example, check out How I Saved Thousands by Having an Emergency Fund. Not only does this article outline the title topic, but I relayed how negotiating with the salesperson and offering something that benefited them saved me an additional few hundred dollars.
These results can be achieved by simply stepping outside your comfort zone. It's tough for Americans. In many other societies, it's EXPECTED that you'll haggle and bargain. Just because an item has a sticker price, it doesn't mean a store owner, salesperson or manager doesn't want you to make them an offer they don't want to refuse. Go out and try it and you might just surprise yourself.
Money Saving Tip #10 Here. $600 Savings
Money Saving Tip #9 Here. $Hundreds Per Year
Money Saving Tip #8 Here. $700 Per Year
Money Saving Tip #7 Here. $100 Per Year
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7 COMMENTS HERE
Excellent! My wife isn't a negotiator. I'm not the greatest negotiator either but I do try. She's aghast sometimes when I dig in my heels and try to negotiate. I don't always win. But she loves it when I do (so do I).
ps- For big home projects have you looked into joining Direct Buy? For projects like kitchens you can save a boat load. (disclaimer: I don't work for them or are affiliated in anyway other than being a member and having used the services).
Direct Buy -
I haven't done any formal research on it (might make for a good post).
I have a friend who signed up for it though.
This is "my opinion", but from what he told me (and he signed up), I was quite turned off by their hard sell pitch. When he showed up, they hit him with an ultimatim which sounded both aggressive and preposterous to me. Apparently, they told him he had to sign up that day, which was a few thousand dollars for the sign up fee, or he couldn't come back for like 7 years or something. How they track and verify something like that is beyond me, but in negotiations terms, this is what's called an "Exploding Offer", which is often a sign of weakness on the part of the negotiator. Fearful that with some internet research after their offer you might opt not to join? I don't know, makes me wonder though.
On top of this hard sell which turned me off immediately, when you buy something from them, there are (in my opinion) extremely high shipping/other fees which negate a good deal of the cost savings you anticipated. They offered to order something for us once, but when I calculated all the other fees, we said, "don't bother, thanks".
I would say, before you sign up for something like that, try to find someone who's a current member (that you can trust) and get the lowdown. My opinion here is based on second hand knowledge. My friend has literally bought tens of thousands of dollars in furniture in the past few years after buying a new house, so he feels it's been worth it. In order to recoup several thousand in upfront fees, if you're only spending a thousand here and there on a new TV or couch once a year, you may regret that investment.
Hope that helps!
EDF - You are correct, in part. The sales pitch is very heavy handed. Puts used car salesmen to shame. :-) But that is how they make their money. Just membership fees. As I said before, if you have several major home remodeling projects coming up (or building/rebuilding a house) it's worth it. But not if you're just looking for a few items.
As far as the shipping charges, I haven't found anything I felt was outrageous. Infact, sometimes I've even gotten a refund of shipping because the estimate was over the actual. And you're going to pay shipping and sales tax anyway else where.
You do have to do much of the planning leg work yourself. They are an item sales service, not a design or constuction company. So you have to make all the little detailed decisions yourself and live with the consequences if you misplan.
Not trying to make a sales pitch for them. I dont' work for the company or own the stock. Just that my wife and I, and her parents, have done very well using them for the projects we've done. It's not for everyone but IMO worth a look.
Thanks for your thoughts; I actually just noticed you said you were a member at the bottom; didn't mean to insult you for joining; I interpretted as asking for thoughts prior to joining (quick reader).
Did you also find the early pitch to be aggressive? Just curious if it was a one time experience for my buddy or this is how they do business - would be good for readers to know what to expect going in if considering.
Where I'm at; don't have that much spending coming up, so haven't considered. But like I said, since my friend seems to like it and you said it's been useful, perhaps I gave them a tough grade based on limited information.
EDF - Our experience wasn't typical. We were an "easy sell". My wife's parents had joined a few years before in preparation for getting fixtures and furniture for a new house they were building in upstate NY. We saw how much they got for so little by comparison to some place like Home Depot or Lowes. So when we bought our house and knew we'd have a lot to remodel it was clear Direct Buy was a good deal for us. But I do agree it is definately not for everyone.
When we go to the showroom they are frequently having an open house and we hear the sales people give their pitch to the newbies. Yes, it is pretty high pressure. They do claim that if you don't sign up on the spot you can't come back later. I don't know how true or enforced that is. But since there locations all over the country even if one shop won't let you come back later just go to another and sign up. You're membership is good at any of the showrooms.
You get the best/biggest discounts on custom work like cabinets, counter tops and furniture. Electronics has the lowest discount but still cheaper than a store like Best Buy. They don't have all brands but do have most of the major brands and the luxury brands.
That's the other point of DB. Even though you may spend the same amount your money gets you more. For example, for the cost of an American Standard faucet in Home Depot you can get a Kohler instead.
But like I said, you have to plan it out in advance and allow time for delivery. Don't use DB as a going to the store to pick up an item or two. If you don't have big plans in your immediate future it probably isn't for you.
Feel free to email me if you'd like to discuss our experiences with DB more.
http://blogs.creditcards.com/2008/07/162nd-carnival-of-personal-finance-baseball-edition.php
We were able to garner quite the sweet discount at HD with their 'meet or beat' pricing on some insulation. Still I had to ask for it. It seems that mentality was more previlant a generation or two ago.
How to Get A Deal
Also, everything I've seen says that DirectBuy is a big scam. Crazy sales pressure for their one-time offer of a very expensive membership fee. Selection limited to what you see. Everything I've read says SHADY, so the risk isn't worth my time. A little googling will result in some interesting stories.
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